Instead, Fegley walked to the opposite side of the podium and faced the audience, speaking to them with his back to the council.

"If council isn't going to respond to what I saw and give me answers or feedback, I'll speak to the public because it seems like they are the ones actually listening," said Fegley, co-owner of Fegley's Brew Works.

Now, city council members will consider making changes to the way the public addresses them during their meetings, which the council president said was partially inspired by such antics as Fegley's.

"We have people come to city council and try to make a mockery out of the government system rather than ask real questions," Julio Guridy said. "If they cannot behave, and not follow the rules, then they shouldn't be coming to city council to speak."

Council will consider a change to the rules that would require all public comments during their "courtesy of the floor" period to be directed to the council president or council as a body.

That means members of the public would not be permitted to address an individual council member, elected official, city staff member or the audience, according to the proposed change.

Guridy said this will in no way limit anyone's ability to address the council but will instead make the meetings more streamlined and efficient and discourage "grandstanding."

"We try to run the city council meeting just like if it were a courtroom," he said. "You wouldn't do that to a judge. If you do that to a judge, you'd be sent to jail for contempt of court."

But Fegley said the proposed rule changes diverge from one of the primary purposes of a city council meeting: to give members of the public an avenue to hear and question their elected officials.

"Council is basically saying they are going to be useless at their meetings," he said. "That's what the government has chosen to do, but we the people elected these people, and they're supposed to be our representatives."

The proposed changes to public comment, and others to the council procedures, will be discussed Monday at city council's rules, intergovernmental relations and strategy committee meeting.

The full council would have to approve any changes, but the committee could make a rejection in favor or against approving the proposal.

Courtesy of the floor is a portion of the council meeting extended to members of the public who wish to speak about items not on the regular agenda.

The public comment period already has a three-minute time limit. Last week, council started displaying a counting-down clock on a large projection screen while members of the public spoke.

In the past, members of the public have directly questioned members of Mayor Ed Pawlowski's administration during that time period, rather than council members.

Fran Dougherty, the city's managing director, has answered some of those questions, while declining to answer others, saying council was not the appropriate avenue for a question-and-answer session.

Dougherty and city spokesman Mike Moore did not respond to a message for comment.

Guridy said council members are not always prepared with immediate answers for each question, but if they do not have an answer, the city clerk is asked to respond within a week.

He also said most members of the public follow the rules but accused "five or six" regulars of trying to disrupt government business by making a scene or repeatedly asking questions that have already been answered.

"They try to impede us from conducting council business and showcase themselves," Guridy said. "It's not everybody, it's only a few, but they do it obviously to get their name in the paper and make a mockery of council."

Fegley called Guridy's accusations offensive and said they could create a chilling effect against others who would ask questions to council members.

"If he's saying I'm trying to be disruptive, this is just a sign of what our government is saying to the people," he said.